1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an optical power monitoring tap for use with bulk optic devices and, more particularly, to an optical tap that may be included within a conventional optical subassembly and advantageously utilize pre-existing optical reflections (and possibly enhanced) as the light source for the optical tap.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In many optical subassemblies it is necessary to include an optical tap to monitor the power level of the optical signals passing th rough the optical subassembly. In most cases, the tap introduces additional optical components into the subassembly. For example, a grating, prism or partially reflecting mirror is added to the subassembly and functions to optically "tap" a portion of the light signal passing through the subassembly. While such an arrangement is useful in extracting a portion of the light signal, the introduction of additional optics adds to the cost and complexity of the overall subassembly. Further, the introduction of additional optics results in attenuating the optical signal passing through the subassembly.